IN ITS first foray into the Indian market, Vantage Hospitality Group has inked a tie-up with Miraya Hotel Management to bring two properties under its economy hotel brand.

The two properties, one located in Sitarganj in Uttarakhand state and the other in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu, are to be rebranded under Value Inn Worldwide in the next two months.

But the US-based group, which has 1,200 properties across the US, Canada, South Korea, Indonesia and Mexico, has bigger plans for India.

“Our main focus will be to expand to Tier Two and Tier Three cities in India where there is a great demand for hotels for the middle class. We plan to grow through rebranding of existing hotels and greenfield projects as well,” said Roger Bloss, founder, president and CEO, Vantage Hospitality Group.

Apart from Value Inn Worldwide, Vantage Hospitality will also open properties under its mid-scale brand, Value Hotel Worldwide. Seven more openings are expected under these two brands within the next six months in destinations including Pune, Surat and Goa.

Miraya Hotel Management plans to invest Rs7 billion (US$112.3 million) in acquiring assets in India. About 70 per cent of Vantage Hospitality’s India properties will come under the Value Inn brand, and the rest, Value Hotel.

“Our aim is to be 100 hotel-strong in the next 10 years,” said Sudhir Sinha, managing director of Value Inns and Hotels India. “Owners who are part of our franchise model will also benefit from Vantage’s global reservation system, revenue generating programmes and other resources.”

Meanwhile, the travel trade welcomed the expansion.

Arun Anand, managing director of Midtown Travels, observed: “There is an undersupply of economy and mid-segment rooms in all the metro cities and more so in the rest of the country.”

“Introduction of these economy and mid-segment brands in India will cater to the market, which is looking to stay at branded hotels that offer rooms and other basic services at reasonable prices,” said Rajji Rai, chairman, Uniglobe Swiftravel.